JP2013223031A - Vehicular acoustic output control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a plurality of kinds of acoustics from being difficult to hear by being interfered when being outputted simultaneously, and to prevent information transfer of more important acoustics from being blocked.SOLUTION: An electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 is provided which monitors the situation of outputting a plurality of kinds of acoustics and, when the situation of simultaneously outputting two or more kinds of acoustics is incurred, automatically suppresses the volume of at least one kind of acoustic output or temporarily stops the output. The sound arbitration circuit includes a plurality of buffers each managing data of sounds and classes of the sounds while pairing them, and processing data of a plurality of sounds of different classes, and includes a decoder circuit 120 which processes the data of a plurality of classes of sounds in accordance with priorities in turns. Further, a first superimpose volume table 135 is provided which represents a combination of volumes of a plurality of sounds.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle sound output control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls a plurality of types of sound outputs such as alarm sound, guidance sound, pseudo engine sound, and sound of content such as music.

  In recent years, vehicles can often output various types of sounds from speakers as needed. For example, when an abnormality such as a failure occurs, an alarm sound may be output using a buzzer or the like. For example, in a car navigation apparatus, guidance voice synthesized using digital information can be output as sound, and guidance regarding a route to a destination can be performed. In addition, in an electric vehicle or a hybrid car, a pseudo engine sound synthesized using digital information is output as sound to inform pedestrians outside the vehicle when the engine is stopped and to inform the driver of the driving situation. There is a case. Further, content such as music can be reproduced and output as sound using an in-vehicle audio device or the like.

  As described above, various types of sounds can be output on the vehicle, but devices that output these sounds are conventionally mounted on the vehicle as independent devices. In other words, there are in-vehicle audio devices that output the sound of content such as music, meter devices that output various alarm sounds, pseudo engine sound generators that output pseudo engine sounds, car navigation devices, and the like as individual devices. Yes.

  Such an apparatus that outputs sound requires components such as an amplifier, a volume controller, and a speaker. Therefore, when various types of sounds are output using devices that are independent from each other, components such as amplifiers, volume adjusters, and speakers are mounted on the vehicle in the number of types of sounds to be output. Will increase. That is, since there are overlapping components, the cost of the entire system becomes expensive.

  Although not related to the in-vehicle device, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for reducing the number of components of a device that outputs sound. Patent Document 1 proposes a voice superimposition utterance control system. Specifically, the speech synthesis circuit is controlled by an arithmetic processing unit, an audio signal output from the speech synthesis circuit is amplified by an amplifier circuit, and a sentence is uttered by sounding a speaker. The voice data is stored in the PROM of the voice synthesis circuit for each phrase constituting the sentence, the operation sound is also stored as a phrase in the PROM and output from the channel ch1, and other normal phrases (sentences) are output from the channel ch2. Is done. Also, the control task section can distribute the operation sound sentence and the other sentence to the two channels ch1 and ch2, buffer them in each buffer, and superimpose them to utter. For this reason, it is not necessary to separately provide a device such as an amplifier circuit or a piezoelectric buzzer for the operation sound, and the number of parts can be reduced and a circuit-saving design can be achieved.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a conventional technique related to an alarm sound device for an electric vehicle. Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for notifying pedestrians and drivers of the driving state of an electric vehicle by sound. Specifically, a plurality of speakers that emit sound to the outside of the vehicle body are attached to the vehicle body, and a warning sound is generated from the speaker when the vehicle body is in a drivable state. Both of them are changed according to the driving state.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a related art regarding a vehicle voice guidance device. In Patent Document 3, when the user cannot hear the contents of the voice output, a re-speech output corresponding to the user's listening ability is performed at the time of retry (re-speech output), and the probability of occurrence of a re-output request is determined. Proposes a technique to reduce this. Specifically, the situation is judged by recognizing environmental conditions such as audio volume, the state of noise detected by the noise sensor, whether the handle is being operated, whether the audio is being operated, or the microphone is being used. Then, the reason is estimated from the past situation stored in response to the request for re-speech output, and the volume or the like is automatically adjusted according to the reason.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-214099 JP 7-322403 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-105192

  For example, when an on-vehicle audio device, a meter device that outputs various alarm sounds, a pseudo engine sound generator that outputs pseudo engine sound, a car navigation device, etc. are mounted on the vehicle, a plurality of types of these devices can be used. Sound may be output simultaneously. In that case, since it reaches a driver | operator's ear in the state with which several types of sound were superimposed, it becomes difficult for a driver | operator to hear each sound.

  For example, when detecting ambient noise using a noise sensor as in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 3, the sound output from other devices is regarded as noise, and the volume of voice guidance is increased. Can be made easy to hear voice guidance. However, when the volume of the voice guidance is increased, even if other sounds are more important, for example, an alarm sound, the sound becomes difficult to hear. In addition, if a plurality of sound output devices perform control as in Patent Document 3, control of the plurality of devices interferes with each other, and therefore, inappropriate control may be performed. In other words, each of the plurality of devices regards the sound output from the other device as noise and tries to increase the sound output by itself, so that each sound volume gradually increases, and the difficulty in hearing each sound does not change and is simply noisy. It becomes a state.

  Therefore, if a plurality of sound output devices output sound simultaneously, the necessary sound will not be output unless the driver's manual operation is performed to lower the volume of the device outputting unnecessary sound. It was not easy to hear. That is, in order to avoid obstructing the transmission of sound information required by the driver, it is necessary to adjust the volume manually.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent the interference of multiple types of sounds that are output simultaneously, making them difficult to hear, and more important sound. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular sound output control device capable of preventing information transmission from being hindered.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a vehicle acoustic output control device according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (8).
(1) A vehicle sound output control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls at least two types of sound outputs of alarm sound, guidance sound, pseudo engine sound, and sound of content such as music,
A sound arbitration circuit that monitors the output status of each sound and automatically suppresses the volume of at least one sound output or temporarily stops the output when two or more types of sound are output simultaneously Is provided.
(2) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (1) above,
The sound arbitration circuit manages a pair of sound data and the sound type, and has a plurality of buffers for processing a plurality of sound data of different types, and a plurality of types of sound data are prioritized. A decoding circuit that processes in order according to
(3) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (1) above,
The sound mediation circuit includes a superimposed volume table that represents a combination of volume levels of a plurality of different types of sounds.
(4) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (3) above,
The sound arbitration circuit has a plurality of superimposed volume tables, and automatically outputs a superimposed volume table to be selected according to the type of sound having a high priority when outputting a plurality of types of sounds simultaneously. Is provided.
(5) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (1) above,
The sound arbitration circuit includes a plurality of buffers that individually hold data of a plurality of types of sounds whose volume is adjusted for each type, and a mixing arithmetic circuit that includes a mixing unit that mixes output data of the plurality of buffers.
(6) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (1) above,
A main control unit for monitoring information representing the state of the vehicle and providing a sound output command relating to the output of at least one of an alarm sound and a guidance sound to the sound arbitration circuit when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
(7) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (6) above,
When detecting a specific input operation, the main control unit temporarily stops or suppresses the acoustic output of the pseudo engine sound for a predetermined length of time.
(8) The vehicle acoustic output control device according to (6) above,
The main control unit stops or suppresses the sound output other than the alarm sound when detecting a specific input operation.

According to the vehicle acoustic output control device having the configuration (1), in a situation in which two or more types of sounds are output simultaneously, the sound arbitration circuit suppresses or temporarily stops the volume of at least one type of sound. The interference of these sounds can be suppressed and it can be made easy to hear. In addition, since the output status of a plurality of types of sound is monitored, it is possible to determine the type of sound whose volume is suppressed in consideration of the importance of the plurality of sounds.
In addition, according to the vehicle sound output control device having the configuration (2), even when it is instructed to output a plurality of types of sounds at the same time, from the type of data to which a higher priority is assigned. It is processed in order and output as sound. Therefore, for sounds with high importance (high priority), the time delay from when the sound output is instructed until when the sound is actually output can be minimized.
In addition, according to the vehicle acoustic output control device having the configuration (3), it is possible to determine in advance a combination of a plurality of types of sound volumes output simultaneously, that is, a volume balance.
In addition, according to the vehicle acoustic output control device having the configuration (4), a plurality of superimposed volume tables can be properly used according to the situation, and among the plurality of sounds to be output at the same time, An appropriate superimposed volume table can be automatically selected according to the type.
In addition, according to the vehicle sound output control device having the configuration (5), for example, even when a plurality of types of sounds are simultaneously output using digital data having different bit rates, the sounds are converted into digital data. The mixing process can be applied to a common acoustic output circuit. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of D / A converters and amplifiers in the acoustic output circuit.
According to the vehicle sound output control device having the configuration (6), the sound output command relating to the alarm sound or the guidance sound is generated according to the state of the vehicle, and is output as sound from the sound adjustment circuit. it can.
Further, according to the vehicle acoustic output control device having the configuration (7), the acoustic output of the pseudo engine sound can be stopped or suppressed for a predetermined time when the driver performs a predetermined input operation.
Further, according to the vehicle acoustic output control device having the configuration (8), when the driver performs a predetermined input operation, the acoustic output other than the alarm sound is stopped or suppressed, so that the alarm sound can be easily heard. Become.

  According to the vehicle sound output control device of the present invention, when a plurality of types of sound are simultaneously output, they are prevented from interfering with each other and difficult to hear, and more important sound information transmission is hindered. It becomes possible to prevent.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the modes for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram showing the detail of the structure of the principal part of the acoustic output control apparatus for vehicles of embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the vehicle acoustic output control apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a decoding circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the mixing arithmetic circuit shown in FIG.

  Specific embodiments relating to the vehicle acoustic output control device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the vehicle acoustic output control apparatus of this embodiment. Further, FIG. 1 shows details of the configuration of the electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 which is a main part of the vehicle acoustic output control device shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 3 shows an internal configuration of the decoding circuit 120 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 shows an internal configuration of the mixing arithmetic circuit 150 shown in FIG.

  The vehicle acoustic output control device shown in FIG. 2 is incorporated in a meter unit 10 mounted on the vehicle. The meter unit 10 includes a speedometer 12, an indicator 13, a display 14, and operation switches 15 to 17 that are arranged at positions that are easy to see from the driver on the instrument panel of the vehicle.

  The speedometer 12 is used to display the current vehicle speed. The indicator 13 is used for displaying a warning when various abnormalities determined in advance occur. The display 14 is used to notify the driver of various information using visible information such as a character string. The operation switches 15 to 17 are switches that can be operated by the driver as necessary. In the present embodiment, the operation switches 15 to 17 are used for controlling the sound output.

  Inside the meter unit 10, a meter CPU 11 mainly composed of a microcomputer is provided in order to control the entire operation. A computer inside the meter CPU 11 executes various programs required to control the meter unit 10 by executing a program stored in advance on its memory (ROM).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the speedometer 12, the indicator 13, the display 14, and the operation switches 15 to 17 are connected to the meter CPU 11. The input of the meter CPU 11 is connected to the vehicle information generation unit 21 outside the meter unit 10. The vehicle information generation unit 21 is, for example, an electronic control device (ECU) that controls the vehicle. The vehicle information generation unit 21 such as an ECU can provide the meter unit 10 with a signal representing a state such as a vehicle abnormality as vehicle information. In addition to the input of the vehicle signal from the vehicle information generation unit 21, a vehicle signal such as a vehicle speed pulse signal, a reverse signal, and an approach warning signal is input to the meter CPU 11 without passing through the vehicle information generation unit 21. Is done.

  In order to output a necessary sound, the vehicle interior speaker 31 and the vehicle exterior speaker 32 are connected to the meter unit 10 shown in FIG. The vehicle interior speaker 31 is installed in the vehicle interior and is used to output sound that can be heard by the driver or the like. The vehicle exterior speaker 32 is installed outside the vehicle compartment on the vehicle, for example, in the space inside the hood, and is used to output sound (mainly pseudo engine sound) that can be heard by pedestrians approaching the vehicle.

  In order to be able to output a desired sound, an external memory 22 and an audio player 23 can be connected to the input of the meter unit 10 as shown in FIG. As a specific example of the external memory 22, a detachable nonvolatile memory such as an SD card or a USB memory is assumed. The external memory 22 holds reproducible acoustic data such as encoded voice and music.

  An external memory interface circuit 19 is provided in the meter unit 10 to connect a detachable external memory 22 and read data. The meter unit 10 can reproduce the data read from the external memory 22 and output it from the vehicle interior speaker 31 as sound. The meter unit 10 not only reproduces the data read from the external memory 22, but also detects a memory operation command C3 (to be described later), stops reproduction of the data that is being reproduced, sends data configured in music units, and plays music. Perform a return, etc.

  The audio player 23 reproduces various contents such as music held by itself and outputs an analog audio signal. The meter unit 10 can receive an analog audio signal output from the audio player 23, perform volume adjustment processing, and output the sound from the vehicle interior speaker 31 as sound.

  An internal memory 18 is provided inside the meter unit 10 in order to output necessary sound. The internal memory 18 holds various types of encoded sound data for outputting a plurality of alarm sounds, a plurality of guidance sounds, and a plurality of pseudo engine sounds.

An electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 is provided in the meter unit 10 shown in FIG. 2 in order to output various types of sounds in a desired state. The electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 is configured as a large scale integrated circuit (LSI).
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 includes a CPU command analysis circuit 110, a decoding circuit 120, a first volume calculation circuit 130, a second volume calculation circuit 140, a mixing calculation circuit 150, a synchronization circuit 160, a D / A A conversion circuit 171, an amplification circuit 172, a D / A conversion circuit 173, and an amplification circuit 174 are provided.

  The CPU command analysis circuit 110 receives and analyzes various commands output from the meter CPU 11 shown in FIG. 2, and controls each circuit in the electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 according to the result. As shown in FIG. 1, the CPU command analysis circuit 110 includes a CPU interface circuit 111, a command analysis circuit 112, and a buffer 113. In the present embodiment, the buffer 113 includes four sets of buffers BufferA, BufferB, BufferC, and BufferD. These buffers BufferA to BufferD are properly used for each data type. The CPU command analysis circuit 110 is connected to the meter CPU 10 via the connection point 101.

  The decode circuit 120 reads various encoded data existing on the internal memory 18 and various encoded data existing on the external memory 22 as necessary, and can reproduce data, that is, an acoustic waveform. It has a function of decoding (decoding) time-series data representing. As shown in FIG. 3, the decoding circuit 120 includes a read register 121, a type register 122, a memory interface circuit 123, a buffer selection circuit 124, a buffer 125, a decoding unit 126, an audio switch 127, and a speaker switch 128. In this embodiment, Buffer1, Buffer2, Buffer3, and Buffer4 are provided as the buffer 125. These buffers Buffer1 to Buffer4 are used properly for each data type to be processed. The decode circuit 120 is connected to the internal memory 18 through the connection point 102 and is connected to the external memory interface circuit 19 through the connection point 103.

  The first volume calculation circuit 130 has a function for adjusting the playback volume of various audio data (time series data) to be played output from the decoding circuit 120. As shown in FIG. 1, the first volume calculation circuit 130 includes a volume register 133, a volume calculation unit 134, a first superimposed volume table 135, a second superimposed volume table 136, and a user volume table 137. The first volume calculation circuit 130 is connected to the decoding circuit 120 via a connection point 131 and is connected to the mixing calculation circuit 150 via a connection point 132.

  The second volume calculation circuit 140 has a function for adjusting the volume of the analog audio signal output from the audio player 23 via the connection points 106 and 141. As shown in FIG. 1, the second volume calculation circuit 140 includes an audio switch 143, a volume calculation unit 144, and a superimposed volume table 145.

  The mixing arithmetic circuit 150 has a function for obtaining a single system of output data by arithmetically mixing a plurality of reproduction target sound data (time-series data) output from the first volume arithmetic circuit 130. As shown in FIG. 4, the mixing operation circuit 150 includes a buffer 151 and a mixing operation unit 152. In the present embodiment, the buffer 151 includes four buffers Buffer5, Buffer6, Buffer7, and Buffer8. These buffers Buffer5 to Buffer8 are properly used for each data type to be processed.

  The synchronization circuit 160 is connected to the decode circuit 120, the first volume calculation circuit 130, and the mixing calculation circuit 150 in order to perform synchronization control described later.

  The D / A conversion circuit 171 converts time series data of one system of sound output from the mixing arithmetic circuit 150 via the connection point 154 into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal. The analog signal output from the D / A conversion circuit 171 and the analog signal output from the second volume calculation circuit 140 are amplified by the amplification circuit 172 and output to the vehicle interior speaker 31, and the vehicle is used as sound that can be heard by the driver or the like. Output to the room. The amplifier circuit 172 is connected to the vehicle interior speaker 31 via the connection point 104.

  The D / A conversion circuit 173 converts the time series data of the pseudo engine sound output from the decoding circuit 120 via the connection point 129b into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal. The analog signal output from the D / A conversion circuit 173 is amplified by the amplifier circuit 174 and output to the speaker 32 outside the vehicle compartment, and is output as sound that can be heard by a pedestrian or the like. The amplifier circuit 174 is connected to the vehicle exterior speaker 32 via the connection point 105.

  Next, characteristic operations of main components provided in the meter unit 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

<Operation of Meter CPU 11>
[11a] A user volume table setting screen is displayed on the display 14 in a state where a predetermined condition is satisfied. In this state, the state of the operation switch 15 is read and used as user input information. Then, a volume command for determining the contents of the tables on the first volume calculation circuit 130 and the second volume calculation circuit 140 is generated.

[11b] In a state where a predetermined condition is satisfied, a pseudo engine sound timer setting screen is displayed on the display 14. In this state, the state of the operation switch 15 is read and used as user input information. Then, the “pseudo engine sound stop time” is determined according to the input information.

[11c] An audio source selection screen is displayed on the display 14 in a state that satisfies a predetermined condition. In this state, the state of the operation switch 15 is read and used as user input information. Then, on / off switching of the audio switch 127, the speaker switch 128, and the audio switch 143 in the second volume arithmetic circuit 140 in the decoding circuit 120 is performed according to the input information.

[11d] When pressing of the operation switch 16 is detected, output of sounds other than the alarm sound from the vehicle interior speaker 31 is stopped.
[11e] When the pressing of the operation switch 17 is detected, the operation of the amplifier circuit 174 is switched off, and the pseudo engine sound output from the outside speaker 32 is stopped for a certain period of time (“pseudo engine sound stop time”). Stop temporarily.
[11f] A sound output command is generated when the values of various vehicle information input from the vehicle information generation unit 21 to the meter CPU 11 match a predetermined sound output condition.

<Operation of CPU Command Analysis Circuit 110>
[110a] The CPU interface circuit 111 performs communication (command exchange) with the meter CPU 11 by a signal passing through the connection point 101. Then, the command analysis circuit 112 analyzes the content of the received command. Typical commands received from the meter CPU 11 include a sound output command C1, a volume command C2, and a memory operation command C3 shown in FIG. The sound output command C1 includes information on command type, data type, data address, size, and loop. The volume command C2 includes information on command type, table number, first volume, second volume, and third volume. The memory operation command C3 includes information on command type and operation.

[110b1] When the reception of the sound output command C1 is detected, the data is stored in the buffers BufferA to BufferD belonging to the buffer 113 according to the data type. That is, in the case of a command for outputting a sound of data type 0 (high priority emergency alarm / voice guide with high urgency), data is stored in buffer Buffer A, and a sound of data type 1 (normal alarm / voice) is stored. Is stored in the buffer BufferB and the buffer BufferC, and in the case of the command for outputting the sound of the data type 2 (pseudo engine sound), the data is stored in the buffer BufferD.

[110b2] Then, the data stored in each buffer is processed in order from the data type with the highest priority and output to the decode circuit 120, and the data value is set in the read register 121 and the type register 122 in the decode circuit 120. To do.

[110b3] Further, the data type value having the highest priority among the data stored in the buffers BufferA to BufferD is output to the first volume arithmetic circuit 130, and this value is set in the volume register 133.

[110c] When the reception of the volume command C2 is detected, the designated data is set in each table in the first volume calculation circuit 130 and the second volume calculation circuit 140 in accordance with the contents of the command.

[110d] When the reception of the memory operation command C3 is detected, the decoding process by the decoding unit 126 of the decoding circuit 120 is performed according to the content of the command and the operation type such as reproduction stop, song advancement or song return. Is specified.

<Operation of Decode Circuit 120>
[120a] The buffer selection circuit 124 refers to the type register 122, and the buffers Buffer1 to Buffer4 belonging to the buffer 125 according to the content, that is, the type of sound to be output instructed by the command received by the CPU command analysis circuit 110. Automatically selects the data storage buffer. Specifically, when the sound type belongs to the alarm or the voice guide, the buffer Buffer1 or Buffer2 is selected, and when the sound type is the pseudo engine sound, the buffer Buffer3 is selected.

[120b] The memory interface circuit 123 refers to the read register 121, and if the storage destination buffer 125 selected by the buffer selection circuit 124 is empty, reads the encoded sound (speech etc.) data from the internal memory 18. Store in the selected buffer Buffer1 to Buffer3. Further, the value of the type register 122 is set in a type register (not shown) paired with each of the buffers Buffer1 to Buffer3. That is, each of the buffers Buffer1 to Buffer3 can hold a value indicating the type of sound and encoded sound data.

[120c] When data is set in each of the buffers Buffer1 to Buffer3, the decoding unit 126 sequentially selects the buffers Buffer1, Buffer2, and Buffer3, and performs decoding processing (decoding) of the sound data held in the selected buffer. Start. In the present embodiment, the priorities of the buffers Buffer1 to Buffer3 have a relationship of “Buffer1> Buffer2> Buffer3”. That is, the contents of the buffer Buffer 1 holding the data belonging to the type of “alarm or voice guide” having the highest priority are processed first, then the contents of the buffer Buffer 2 of the second priority are processed, and then the buffer The contents of Buffer3 are processed.

[120d] When the pseudo engine sound data held in the buffer Buffer3 is decoded, the speaker switch 128 is turned on.
Note that sound data on the external memory 22 can also be reproduced. In that case, the external memory interface circuit 19 reads the encoded data from the external memory 22 and stores it in the buffer 4 via the audio switch 127. In this case, since the priority order of Buffer 4 is the lowest, the decoding unit 126 decodes the data on Buffer 4 last. Then, the decoding unit 126 outputs to the first volume arithmetic circuit 130 via the connection point 129a.

<Operation of First Volume Operation Circuit 130>
[130a] The volume calculation unit 134 refers to the volume register 133 and automatically selects a volume table to be used in accordance with the contents. That is, the table assigned to the type of sound data having the highest priority among the sounds to be output is selected from the first superimposed volume table 135, the second superimposed volume table 136, and the user volume table 137. Specifically, the first superimposed volume table 135 is selected when the data type is 0, the second superimposed volume table 136 is selected when the data type is 1, and the user volume table is selected for other data types. 137 is selected.

[130b] The decoded sound input from the decoding circuit 120 to the contents of any of the first superimposed volume table 135, the second superimposed volume table 136, and the user volume table 137 selected by the volume calculation unit 134 is processed. Is processed so as to be reflected in the volume (amplitude) of the data (time-series data representing the waveform).

  Each table 135, 136, and 137 is provided with an area for holding volume data of each of the three types of sounds. For example, on the first superimposed volume table 135, an area for holding the volume value VolA1 of the alarm / voice guide, an area for holding the volume value VolA3 of the pseudo engine sound, and an area for holding the volume value VolA4 of the content such as music Are provided. Therefore, by selecting the first superimposed volume table 135, a combination of the volume value VolA1 of the alarm / voice guide, the volume value VolA3 of the pseudo engine sound, and the volume value VolA4 of the content such as music can be determined at a time. Similarly, by selecting the second superimposed volume table 136, it is possible to select a combination of the volume value VolB1 of the alarm / voice guide, the volume value VolB3 of the pseudo engine sound, and the volume value VolB4 of the content such as music. Further, by selecting the user volume table 137, it is possible to select a combination of the volume value VolC1 of the alarm / voice guide, the volume value VolC3 of the pseudo engine sound, and the volume value VolC4 of the content such as music.

<Operation of Second Volume Operation Circuit 140>
[140a] The volume calculation unit 144 refers to the volume register 133 in the first volume calculation circuit 130, and automatically selects a volume table to be used according to the contents. Specifically, when the data type is 0, “superimposed volume 1” in the superimposed volume table 145, “superimposed volume 2” when the data type is 1, and “user volume” when the data type is other than that. Select each table.

[140b] The volume calculation unit 144 reflects the volume value (one of VolA5, VolB5, and VolC5) of one table selected by the above processing with respect to the analog audio signal input from the input terminal 141. Adjust. The adjustment result is output via connection points 142 and 146.

<Operation of Mixing Operation Circuit 150>
[150a] The sound time-series data (volume-adjusted data) output from the first volume arithmetic circuit 130 via the connection point 153 is stored in the buffers Buffer 5, Buffer 6, Buffer 7, and Buffer 8 belonging to the buffer 151 in order. . That is, when the sound type is alarm / voice guide, it is stored in the buffer Buffer5 or Buffer6, when the sound type is pseudo engine sound, it is stored in the buffer Buffer7, and when the sound type is content such as music, the buffer Buffer8 is stored. To store. However, when the volume (volume) in the superimposed volume table of the first volume calculation circuit 130 is set to OFF, data set to the target buffer is not performed.

[150b] After storing the sound data up to the last buffer Buffer 8, the mixing operation unit 152 performs a mixing operation for mixing the sound data stored in the buffers Buffer 5 to Buffer 8 into a single system output.

<Operation of Synchronization Circuit 160>
[160a] When data remains in any of the buffers (Buffer 5 to Buffer 8) in the mixing arithmetic circuit 150, data to be processed next (data output from the decoding circuit 120 or the first volume arithmetic circuit 130). ) Cannot overwrite the data in the buffer. At that time, the decoding process of the decoding circuit 120 is temporarily stopped.

[160b] When the first volume calculation circuit 130 finishes the volume calculation process immediately after the use buffer of the decode circuit 120 is switched, the buffer switching SW for switching the storage destination buffers (Buffer 5 to Buffer 8) in the mixing calculation circuit 150 is switched.

<Operation of External Memory Interface Circuit 19>
[19a] The encoded music data is read from the external memory 22.
[19b] When the buffer Buffer4 in the decoding circuit 120 becomes about half, the next music data is set in the buffer Buffer4.

  Since each part of the meter unit 10 operates as described above, in a situation where a plurality of sounds are simultaneously output from the vehicle interior speaker 31 or the vehicle exterior speaker 32, the electronic sound arbitration circuit 100 will be described next. Appropriate arbitration control can be performed.

  For example, in accordance with a sound output command generated by the meter CPU 11, an alarm sound, a guidance voice for voice guidance, and a pseudo engine sound are output at the same time, and further, a content reproduction sound is output at the same time. The sound data of the alarm sound, the guidance sound, the pseudo engine sound read from each of the sound data, and the sound data of the music read from the external memory 22 are decoded by the decoding circuit 120 and input to the first volume calculation circuit 130.

  On the other hand, the CPU command analysis circuit 110 writes the type of data with the highest priority among the alarm sound, the guidance voice for voice guidance, and the pseudo engine sound into the volume register 133 of the first volume arithmetic circuit 130. One of the first superimposed volume table 135, the second superimposed volume table 136, and the user volume table 137 is selected in accordance with the type of data having the highest priority among a plurality of sounds output at the same time (for example, alarm sound). .

  When the first superimposed volume table 135 is selected, the alarm sound and the volume of the volume values VolA1, VolA3, and VolA4 written on the first superimposed volume table 135 by the volume command output from the meter CPU 11 in advance are set. The volume balance of the guidance voice, the pseudo engine sound, and the playback sound of the content is determined. That is, in the case of outputting alarm sound or guidance sound as sound, the volume of the pseudo engine sound that is output at the same time or the volume of the playback sound of the content can be suppressed by the volume values VolA3 and VolA4, or the sound output can be stopped. Therefore, it becomes easy for a user such as a driver to hear an alarm sound and guidance voice.

  As described above, the vehicle acoustic output control device according to the present invention is a device that controls a plurality of types of acoustic outputs such as alarm sounds, guidance sounds, pseudo engine sounds, and reproduction sounds of contents such as music as a system. It is assumed to be mounted on a meter unit, an in-vehicle audio device, a car navigation device, or the like. By applying the present invention, it is possible to suppress the interference of a plurality of types of sounds that are output at the same time, and to maintain a highly important sound that is easy for the user to hear.

10 Meter unit 11 Meter CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Speedometer 13 Indicator 14 Indicator 15, 16, 17 Operation switch 18 Internal memory 19 External memory interface circuit 21 Vehicle information generation part 22 External memory 23 Audio player 31 Car interior speaker 32 Car interior speaker 100 Electronic sound mediation circuit (sound mediation) circuit)
110 CPU Command Analysis Circuit 111 CPU Interface Circuit 112 Command Analysis Circuit 113 Buffer 120 Decoding Circuit 121 Read Register 122 Type Register 123 Memory Interface Circuit 124 Buffer Selection Circuit 125 Buffer 126 Decoding Unit 127 Audio Switch 128 Speaker Switch 130 First Volume Operation Circuit 133 Volume register 134 Volume calculation unit 135 First superimposed volume table 136 Second superimposed volume table 137 User volume table 140 Second volume calculation circuit 143 Audio switch 144 Volume calculation unit 145 Superposition volume table 150 Mixing calculation circuit 151 Buffer 152 Mixing calculation unit 160 Synchronous circuit 171 173 D / A conversion circuit 172 amplifier circuit

Claims (8)

A vehicle sound output control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls at least two types of sound outputs of alarm sound, guidance sound, pseudo engine sound, and sound of content such as music,
A sound arbitration circuit that monitors the output status of each sound and automatically suppresses the volume of at least one sound output or temporarily stops the output when two or more types of sound are output simultaneously An acoustic output control device for a vehicle comprising: The sound arbitration circuit manages a pair of sound data and the sound type, and has a plurality of buffers for processing a plurality of sound data of different types, and a plurality of types of sound data are prioritized. The vehicle acoustic output control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a decoding circuit that sequentially processes according to claim 1. The vehicle sound output control device according to claim 1, wherein the sound arbitration circuit includes a superimposed volume table that represents a combination of sound volumes of a plurality of different types of sounds. The sound arbitration circuit has a plurality of superimposed volume tables, and automatically outputs a superimposed volume table to be selected according to the type of sound having a high priority when outputting a plurality of types of sounds simultaneously. The vehicle acoustic output control device according to claim 3. The sound adjustment circuit includes: a plurality of buffers that individually hold data of a plurality of types of sounds whose volume is adjusted for each type; and a mixing arithmetic circuit that includes a mixing unit that mixes output data of the plurality of buffers. The vehicle acoustic output control device according to claim 1. 2. The main control unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a main control unit that monitors information representing a state of the vehicle and gives a sound output command related to the output of at least one of an alarm sound and a guidance sound to the sound arbitration circuit when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Vehicle sound output control device. The vehicle acoustic output control device according to claim 6, wherein the main control unit temporarily stops or suppresses the acoustic output of the pseudo engine sound for a predetermined length of time when a specific input operation is detected. . The vehicle acoustic output control device according to claim 6, wherein the main control unit stops or suppresses an acoustic output other than an alarm sound when a specific input operation is detected.

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